New Year Book Tag (Sophie)

Look, before you say anything, I know this is mega late. Sarah posted hers a few weeks ago and tagged me and I also wanted to join the hype because I love a good tag! I don’t do many resolutions or goals at New Year – I set myself intentions which are flexible and I adapt when it feels right. It’s the same with my reading! I have a few intentions which I’m working towards but mostly I’m just going to read what I want to read. Read on to find out more!

1) Do you do the Goodreads challenge? If so what is your goal for 2020?
I always set the challenge but rarely (if ever) make it. I don’t stick to trying to make it as the amount of books I’ve read doesn’t necessarily mean very much as they can be very different lengths and types. However, I always set it to 52 as one year in my life I aim to read 52 books in a year – the equivalent of one a week! We shall see if this year is the year…

2) What are some other reading goals/challenges you’re setting yourself?
I haven’t really set myself many specific ones as I find my intentions change throughout the year and I want freedom to read what I am feeling like in the moment. However a couple general ones are – read more books from countries which aren’t UK/USA, read more books in different genres and to read a good chunk of the books I own that I haven’t yet read.

3) What is a reading habit you want to leave in 2019 and one you want to carry forward into 2020?
I’m going to carry forward (and have been already) reading what I want to read. Other than for our LGBTQ+ Book Club, I have free reign in what I want to read. There are no rules saying I have to read something and I used to feel guilty for not reading what everyone else is talking about, but if I’m not feeling it then I’m not reading it. I’m hoping to leave behind not reading before bed. So far this year, I have been reading much more before I sleep which I’m really happy about – although staying up reading a book for two hours the other night was not my best decision!

4) Do you use any other method of tracking your reading other than goodreads?
I don’t but I’m super intrigued by other people’s tracking methods! I would like to track and look into stats of the types of books I read so I can diversify and broaden my reading so looking into tracking methods is something I’m planning on doing soon.

5) Did you get any books for the holidays you want to prioritise in the new year?
I received a few books for Christmas, a couple of which I am planning on hopefully reading soonish. I got Fleabag: The Scriptures which I aim to pick up after finishing watching season 2 and a conspiracy theories book which Sarah gifted to me – we are both very into reading conspiracy theories so it should be an interesting read.

6) What will be/was your first read of the new year and how did you decide?
My first read of the year was Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson. It was an easy decision for me as I had agreed to be part of the blog tour for the new paperback release. I very rarely do blog tours but I’ve been wanting to read Paper Avalanche for quite some time and I’m so glad I did! I loved it and because I had to post by mid-January, it made the decision of what to read very easy.

7) Are there any series you want to continue or finish this year?
Considering a few years ago I LIVED for series, the past 2/3 years have been very series-less for me. I am however rereading His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I finished Northern Lights last year and plan to read at least the second this year. I haven’t read this since I was around 9 years old and they’re really interesting to pick up as an adult!

8) Whose content are you most excited to watch going into the new year?
I’m keeping this question Booktube themed because I have been watching more recently and I want to get into watching more (I’m just really bad at keeping up with YouTube videos, it’s never been something I keep up with!). I really love content from Lily, Jaz and Charlotte so will definitely be watching all of theirs. I’ve known Jaz and Charlotte for a few years now and love them to bits and I met Lily at YALC this year and we truly got on like a house on fire. They are lovely people with cool, chill content and I do look forward to what they all put out this year.

9) Are there any readathons you’re anticipating/want to participate in?
Last weekend I participated in the Groundhogathon, a readathon from Jaz and Sharn. It was all about rereading one of your favourite books and though my initial plan was to read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, I joined the readathon pretty late so chose a shorter book – AMonster Calls by Patrick Ness. It’s actually the first readathon I’ve ever participated in (though we have ran readalongs before on our blog before) and I really want to join a couple more this year.

10) What 2020 debut novels are you looking forward to?
Quite honestly, I’m really bad at reading new releases of any kind and since this year I want to get a lot of books currently on my shelf read, I’m not super focusing on new releases. However, there are a few that have jumped out to me that I am looking forward to and may pick up at some point! I will definitely read them, I’m just making no promises it will be within a few months of their publication dates!

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

The Gravity Of Us by Phil Stamper

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

Of course there will be a ton of amazing debut novels coming out this year and I’m excited to see what people get really into!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the post! I’m pretty chill about book goals this year I’m so happy with the books I’ve already read so far. Let me know what books you’re excited to get stuck into this year!